The impact of egg incubation temperature on the personality of oviparous reptiles

Abstract

Personality traits, defined as differences in the behavior of individual animals of the same species that are consistent over time and context, such as ‘boldness,’ have been shown to be both heritable and be influenced by external factors, such as predation pressure. Currently, we know very little about the role that early environmental factors have upon personality. Thus, we investigated the impact of incubation temperature upon the boldness on an oviparous reptile, the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). Eggs, from one clutch, were incubated at two different average temperatures within the normal range. After hatching the lizards were raised under the same environmental conditions. Novel object and novel environment tests were used to assess personality. Each test was repeated in both the short term and the long term. The results revealed that incubation temperature did impact upon ‘boldness’ but only in the short term and suggests that, rather than influencing personality, incubation temperature may have an effect on the development of behavioral of oviparous reptiles at different stages across ontogeny.

Early experience affects learning performance and neophobia in a cooperatively breeding cichlid

“…Our results revealed an effect of the social, but not the predator rearing experience on neophobia. The willingness of an individual to take risks when exposed to novelty has been investigated in a wide range of taxa including fish (e.g., Frost, Winrow‐Giffen, Ashley, & Sneddon, ), amphibians (e.g., Caelson & Langkilde, ), reptiles (Carter et al., ; Siviter et al., ), birds (reviewed in Cockrem, ), and mammals (e.g., Carter, Marshall, Heinsohn, & Cowlishaw, ) and has important implications for fitness in the context of foraging, reproductive success and predation (e.g., Biro & Stamps, ). The ability to survive predator encounters is one of the strongest selective forces (Lima & Dill, ; Peacor & Werner, ) and it has been shown that neophobia has an important role in predator avoidance (e.g., Carter et al., ).…”

Animal cognition in a human-dominated world

“…Illustrating potential effects of climate change on animal cognition, our final two studies are examples of research on the effects of changing temperature in reptiles and amphibians, taxonomic groups that have received only minimal attention in this regard. Whereas Siviter et al (2016) focus on the effects of incubation temperature on reptile personality, Amiel et al (2016) suggest that increased incubation temperatures may directly modify brain structures and related learning abilities in scincid lizards (Bassiana duperreyi). These studies highlight the need to design long-term studies in which temperature is gradually stepped up across generations in levels that mimic predicted temperature rises.…”

Incubation temperature influences the behavioral traits of a young precocial bird

“…First, other avian parental effects, such as hormone deposition to the egg, influence behavioral traits in birds (Daisley, Bromundt, Möstl, & Kotrschal, 2005;Forstmeier, Coltman, & Birkhead, 2004). Second, incubation temperature is known to influence boldness and fear-related behaviors in nonavian reptiles (Siviter et al, 2017;Trnik, Albrechtová, & Kratochvíl, 2011), and we suspect a similar effect exists for birds. Third, incubation temperature influences avian corticosterone levels (DuRant et al, 2010;Wada et al, 2015), growth rates (DuRant et al, 2010), and metabolic rates (DuRant et al, 2012b;Nord & Nilsson, 2011), all of which are related to proactive/reactive behavioral traits in other species (Biro & Stamps, 2010;Careau et al, 2008;Carere, Groothuis, Möstl, Daan, & Koolhaas, 2003;Cockrem, 2007;Stamps, 2007;Stöwe, Rosivall, Drent, & Möstl, 2010).…”